Watch Hillary Clinton Try Out Her Donald Trump Impression on S.N.L.

The Saturday Night Live cameo has long since stopped becoming a novel or even all that surprising thing for a campaigning presidential candidate to do. Back in 2008, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Sarah Palin all made appearances. It’s more expected than audacious at this point. Still, it’s always at least a little instructive and enlightening to see how the candidates pull off the sometimes daunting task of seeming loose and comfortable and something approaching personable.

So even though we’ve seen her go through these motions before, it was fascinating to watch Hillary Clinton once again making the S.N.L. rounds. This time, she was placed opposite Kate McKinnon, whose Hillary impersonation is both driven and oddly melancholy. What better setting, then, than late night at a bar, with the real Hillary playing “Val” the bartender. There were some very strong moments, including McKinnon taking Hillary to task for her could’ve-been-sooner support for gay marriage, and actual Hillary’s take on Donald Trump (“Isn’t he the one that’s like ‘uhh, you’re all losers’?”).

Also of note: Saturday Night Live put the clip of the sketch online despite its inclusion of “Lean on Me.” Normally, sketches that include music (the rights for which cost extra for streaming) get nixed from the day-after barrage of clips made available online. Clearly, some sketches are important enough to warrant opening the pocketbook.